Bob Barr's PAC, The Bob Barr Leadership Fund, is showing how Republicans and former Republicans really lead. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, BBLF has actually donated less than 5% of the 4.3 million dollars it has received in donations since 2003.
$125,000 went to federal campaigns and $81,875 state and local campaigns. The other $4,093,125 went to fund raising efforts.
"It costs money to raise money," Barr said.
In his fund raising letters Barr talked about furthering conservative ideals:
In the [April 2008 fund raising] letter Barr told potential donors the fund played a "tremendous role" in ousting Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) in 2004 and provided "critical funding" in 2006 for freshman Rep. Michele Bachman (R-Minn.). But records show the fund made modest donations in those races: $1,000 to John Thune, Daschle's opponent, and $1,500 to Bachman.
The letter states he also raised tens of thousands of dollars in 2002 for Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.). The organization, however, donated nothing to Chambliss that year; a fund official wrote in an e-mail that Barr, not the fund, helped raise about $20,000 for that race.
Over the years, the federal candidate who received the most contributions from Barr's fund has been Barr himself — $10,000. The fund gave $12,000 to the Libertarian National Committee.
Raising tons of money for a PAC and not actually giving it away seems like a conservative ideal, doesn't it?